Islamist Pleads Guilty To Marine Car Attacks

A Seattle man has pleaded guilty to felony harassment and attempted malicious mischief after trying to run two Marine recruiters off the road last July. Michael Dale McCright, known online as Mikhail Jihad, also is suspected of ties to a plot targeting the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in the State of Washington.

McCright's plea to lesser charges allows him to avoid a life sentence under the Washington's three-strikes law, although he remains under investigation for "possible ties to domestic terrorism." According to charging documents, he spotted the Marines by their license plate and uniforms, "appeared to become angry," and tried to force them off the road.

Police discovered a cell phone in McCright's possession when they arrested him in September that had been used to call terror suspect Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, the ringleader of a plan to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Law enforcement suspected a strong connection between McCright and Abdul-Latif because both targeted the American military.

Prosecutors have agreed to seek a four and a half year sentence, as part of the plea agreement. He was originally held on a $2 million bail, and his extensive criminal past included first-degree robbery, assault, and other felony crimes.

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